Trail Work Continues At Elk Knob
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The Elk Knob State Natural Area, one of the newest additions to the state park system, is getting warmed up for summer as work continues on the development of trails through the mountain that bridges Watauga and Ashe counties. The 1,800-acre park was authorized as an addition to the state parks system in 2003 after being donated by The Nature Conservancy. The natural area’s main entrance is on Meat Camp Road, though right now there’s little more than a rough logging road to provide access to the park. |
After the trail is finished, there will be some road upgrades, the addition of parking lots at the trail heads, and about a dozen picnic sites. Eventually a park office will be built along with an interim maintenance station, and Trivette hopes a picnic shelter will be constructed, though he said money will probably run out by that point. “We hope to start (the trail) in the next month or so,” he said. “We have limited staff to do the initial groundwork, and the DOT (N.C. Department of Transportation) will work on the roads. We’ll eventually be open to volunteers interested in trail construction.”
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